I drove up the Mt Evans scenic road off I70 to where it was closed; this is normally where you would pay to go to top. I parked (plenty of spots) and then hiked up 15 miles to the summit (30 miles total). Round trip was 10 hours (6 up, 4 down). Great hike. Did it in standard hiking shoes. A lot of snow on the road but only difficult to cross in 3 or 4 places where there were drifts. Saw a group of big horn sheep midway. Great way to get up there in the winter with basic gear. Finished in dark with small flashlight, but you cannot get lost.

Had a few hours before flying back to Denmark, so made a 5 hour roundtrip: Guanella Pass - Mt. Spalding - Mt. Evans - Sawtooth summit - Guanella Pass. I had planned to do Sawtooth Ridge and Bierstadt but ran out of time. Weather started out wet and foggy, but ended up being quite ok.

#1 8-22-15 The ascent from the pass was a bit taxing because one is off trail so much of the time. Next time we will ascend the Mt Spalding nw ridge and go over the summit, then pick up the Summit Lake trail to Evans' west ridge. Then we'll take the ridge to the Evans summit. But the other route worked for it being our first time on this "route."

From the parking lot, the hike to the summit/marker is much less than half a mile. But on this August day the winds were at least 30-40 mph and the air temperature was 30 deg F. There were snow flurries. The winds were the kind of sustained winds that have to be leaned into. Ill prepared in shorts and hiking sandals it was a bit of a challenge.

Started at Summit Lake early around 7:30am, quickly made the summit of Mount Spalding, and then took the West Ridge all the way to Mount Evans summit. Glad to see there weren't that many people on the summit. Descended the easy NE route back to the trail head at Summit Lake. Not bad for altitude training, don't think I'll be back up Evans for a long time since mankind destroyed it.

West ridge from Guanella Pass winter closure. Snow was packed on the road from snowmobiles, and pretty well consolidated on the trail and willows so not much post holing. Upper route was pretty well windblown, some patches of snow, but not that deep and mostly grass and talus.